All Rise...

The Charge

"Well, Abe, there are two occupations open to those who have failed at
everything else: school teaching and politics!"

The Case

While over 200 actors have played the 16th President on the United States
onscreen, few have made a significant effort to tell the story of man and his
road to the White House. One of the first attempts was The Dramatic Life Of
Abraham Lincoln, a silent with George A. Billings, who frequently played
Lincoln in the late 1920s. Other noble efforts include a 1930 production
directed by D. W. Griffith and starring Walter Huston; actor Frank Glynn, Sr.
played Lincoln over ten times in the 1930s, including Lincoln In The White
House; in recent times, we've seen Hal Holbrook (North & South)
and Sam Waterson (The Civil War)
lend their stage experience to the role.

Perhaps the best crack at Lincoln's life is 1940's Abe Lincoln In
Illinois, based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Robert E. Sherwood (The Best Years Of Our
Lives).

In 1831, young Abe Lincoln (Raymond Massey, Arsenic And Old Lace) leaves
his parents to transport swine across on the Sangamon river to New Orleans. One
day, a boat accident near the village of New Salem, Illinois results in many of
the pigs falling into the river. While scrambling to collect them all, Abe
chances to meet the ravishing Ann Rutledge (Mary Howard, The Riders Of The
Purple Sage), who would later become his first love. Abe gives up the river
to live in New Salem, taking a job as the local postal clerk. Despite a lack of
education and funds, Lincoln is pushed by the locals to run for the Illinois
General Assembly; right before the election, Rutledge becomes gravely ill and
dies.

Devastated but remaining committed to politics, Lincoln would serve in the
state legislature before moving to Springfield to become an attorney. While
there, he meets Mary Todd (Ruth Gordon, Oscar-winner for Rosemary's Baby), whom he would
later marry and have several children with. His success at law would lead to
four terms in the House of Representatives, where his outspoken beliefs would
make him many friends and enemies. His attitudes on the issue of slavery
emancipation was often called into question, particularly by his Presidential
opponent Stephen Douglas (Gene Lockhart,Miracle On 34th Street).

As speechwriter to Franklin D. Roosevelt, Sherwood no doubt studied and was
inspired by many of Lincoln's speeches to write Abe Lincoln In Illinois.
Indeed, he utilized many of Abe's actual words as dialogue, including the
heartbreaking farewell state address before assuming the Presidency. RKO picked
up the film rights and hired John Cromwell (Since You Went Away) to direct.
Released in 1940—on Lincoln's birthday—the film became a critical
success, garnering Academy Award nominations for Best Actor and Cinematography
(James Wong Howe, Hud). However, modern audiences
are largely unfamiliar with the film, its status as a minor classic limited to
only occasional showings on Turner Classic Movies.

With the expected Hollywood corn and gloss minimized, Abe Lincoln In
Illinois emerges as a poignant, passionate movie. Sherwood's script alone
makes this soar above most traditional biopics, focusing only on Lincoln's early
years as a lawyer and statesman. We never see Lincoln as President, free the
slaves, or assassinated; possibly because the majority of Americans are already
aware of those events. Instead, we watch Lincoln as an ambitious young man who
is coming to grips with the slavery situation splitting the country in half,
while also garnering his reputation as an all-American patriot. The film is
worth seeing alone for Massey's moving portrayal, recreating the role he
originated on the stage. Ingratiating every moment he's onscreen, Massey
delivers Lincoln's eloquent speeches with quiet dignity and humbleness; it's no
wonder he was cast in all later television adaptations, playing Lincoln for the
final time in How The West Was Won.
Previously, the actor had worked with Cromwell on The Prisoner Of Zenda (1937),
and their collaboration here proves to be one of the film's chief assets.

The only other actor to make the transition from play to screen is Howard da
Silva, who plays Jack Armstrong, the drunkard who fights Lincoln in the
beginning. Silva would later be blacklisted before getting his most famous role:
Dr. Benjamin Franklin, in the stage musical and screen version of 1776. As for the ladies, Gordon makes her feature
film debut here, emerging as a lovely and spirited Mary Todd; and Howard, who
passed away in July 2009, is equally good as Ann Rutledge. The beloved Lockhart
is slightly over-the-top as Douglas, yet he still makes a worthy antagonist.
And, yes, that is Cromwell himself in a cameo as John Brown, the abolitionist
who led an arsenal raid in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia; the director is also
the father of actor James Cromwell (Babe),
who was born a month prior to the film's release.

Because of its forgotten status, Abe Lincoln In Illinois is finally
arriving on DVD as part of the Warner Archive collection. As expected, no
evidence of restoration is present; the full frame image is riddled with scars
and white spots. Audio is even worse, with cracks and hisses galore. If this
isn't enough, the print damage occasionally muffles the dialogue; this is a
serious offense considering no subtitles or closed captioning is provided. The
absence of extras only shows even more how ridiculous the $25 price tag is, but
it remains a must-see for classic film buffs. Your best bet is to try to find it
for rental.

The Verdict

Massey and the film are free to go, but Warner Bros. is found very guilty.